Protector



D88. 31, 1940. R a ULL 2,226,601

PROTECTOR Filed Sept. 27, 1939 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 31, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I g PaorEo'roaj g Richard B. Euller, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Hinde & Dauch Paper Company, Sandusky,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 27, 1939, Serial N0. 296,802 Claims. (Cl. 206-60) This invention relates to a protector for the corner of merchandise to be packed in stacks or layers, particularly flat articles, and aims to provide a protector for that purpose which is made 5 from a single piece of corrugated board material,

which can be readily folded into shape for application and which will hold such shape without any fastening means except interfitting of its own elements. This invention also includes features which align the protected items in the stack.

A preferred embodiment of the protector is shown in the accompanying drawing and described in the following specification, it being understood that such disclosure is illustrative rather than limiting, but may be modified in detail within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective showing two of my protectors applied to articles piled in a stack, so that two protectors protect three articles;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a protector set up, looking toward the inside;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the plane 3-3 of 2 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the plane 44 of Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the protector is made; and

Fig. 6 is a view of the protector partially folded,

so as to show the method of assembly.

The protector comprises two right triangular portions H and I2, forming the bottom and top respectively, having individual sides I3 and I4 hinged to them, and connected by a common side IS. The hinge line of M is preferably offset outwardly from the projection of the hinge line of l3, the extent of the offset being equal to the thickness of the material. Sides l4 and [5 each include tabs, l6 and I! respectively, formed by notching the top l2 along the respective hinging lines, and side l3 includes a tab l8 on its free outer edge, It being no longer than the notch from which I6 is cut, so as to pass through that notch when the protector is set up, but preferably higher than It to an extent equal to the thickness of the material. Thus, when the protector is turned about its hinge line for setting up, the tabs are upstanding and of the same height as the wall to which they pertain, although such equality of height is important only for neat appearance.

To set up the protector, the panels [3 and M are turned up at a right angle to panels H and I2 respectively, and then H and 12 are folded about the hinge lines of side l5 and thus brought parallel, as shown in Figs. 6 and2, with side [3 inwardly against side Hi, all tabs upstanding, and tab l8 projecting through the slot. left by l6, thus locking the'protector into the set-up position of Fig. 2. It is then ready to be slipped on the 5 corner of the merchandise to be protected.

The illustration in Figs. 1, 3 and. 4 represents a pile of enamelled table tops, which need protection only at their corners. By putting a protector on each corner of the bottom table top T of the pile, the next one in the pile T, needs no protector, since the top [2 below and the bottom ll above protect the intermediate top T, and the tabs I1 and |6l8 of the lower protector keep the top T from slipping. Furthermore, since tab I1 is the same thickness as side l6, and since tabs l8 and 16 combined are the same thickness as walls l3 and I4 combined, the entire pile is kept in vertical edge alignment in both directions. At the same time the protectors, although applied only to every other top, spaces every top from its neighbors as shown at S in Fig. 3, where the tops T and T are shown dotted only. The sides l3 and I5 space the edges of T and T in- 25 wardly from any outside container in which the pile may be packed. In Fig. 1 it is assumed that more tops T and T will be added to the pile. If relative thickness of merchandise and height of tabs allows, any protectors above the bottom can be inverted, and the top one will naturally be inverted or have its tabs cut off or flattened down.

The protectors need be large enough to cover and fit firmly upon the corners only, and do not have to overlap much of any surface of the merchandise being protected. Obviously the protectors can be made, as shown in Fig. 5. of a single thickness of corrugated board by a single die stroke, and when set up are interlocked without additional fastenings; neither adhesive nor 40 staples being necessary. Thus the protectors can readily be stored and shipped flat in very compact packages. but are very readily and quickly set up by unskilled help either at the time of applying to the merchandise, or a number may be 45 made ready by one operator and supplied to a packer already set up.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment in detail, variations therefrom may be resorted to, within the scope of the appended 50 claims. In the claims the word top is used referring to the position of the protector as shown in Fig. 1, but this terminology is merely a matter of convenience.

I claim: 55

1. A protector comprising in combination a top, bottom and two side walls, one of said side walls being of two plies, one ply hinged upwardly from the bottom and the other hinged downwardly from the top, and the other side being hinged to both top and bottom, each ply of said two-ply wall having a tab prolongation, one of said tabs being cut from the top and the other tab being adapted to project through the opening left by said first tab.

2. A protector comprising in combination a top, bottom and two side Walls, one of said side walls being of two plies, one ply hinged upwardly from the bottom and the other hinged downwardly from the top, and a tab upstanding on the inner ply, and a slot in the top adjacent the outer ply through which said tab is adapted to project.

3. A protector comprising in combination, a top, bottom and two side walls, one of said side walls being of two plies, one ply hinged upwardly from the bottom and the other hinged downwardly from the top, and a tab upstanding on the inner ply, and a slot in the top adjacent the outer ply through which said tab is adapted to project, said slot being of substantially the same length as said tab.

4. A protector comprising in combination top and bottom panels and an intermediate panel hingedly connecting same, side walls hinged to said top and bottom panels respectively, the hinge line between said bottom panel and its side wall being offset inwardly an amount equal to the thickness of the material from the hinge line connecting the top panel and its side wall.

5. A blank for a corner protector comprising in combination two principal panels hinged to opposite sides of a connecting panel, and a wall panel hinged to each of said first-named panels on a line at right angles to said connecting panel, a tab rigid with said connecting panel, and a tab rigid with one of said wall panels, each of said tabs being severed from the material of the same principal panel.

RICHARD B. EULLER. 

